Vending-machine



/ A. D. GROVER.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 29, I915.

Patented Dec. 20, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTBR uQZberZ 17. iw n A. u. G ROVER,

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 29 I9I5.

r w Z Wu w E Z m w M g n m P 11 I l I I 1| M A. D. GROVEH.

VENDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 29, 1915,

Patented Dec 20, 1921.

LQQQERQD 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- IN VEN T DR UQZZWZ 17. W

@iFFlClE.

ALBERT D. GROVER, 01 NEXT? 5303K, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0 AUTOSALES CORPORATION, A CQRPORATION OF NEW YORK.

VENDING-IIIACHINE.

Patented Dec. 26), 1921.

original application filed May 11, 1915, Serial No. 2?,302. Divided and this application filed October 29,

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that T, ALBERT D. Gnovnn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vending-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to coin-controlled vending machines and its object is to provide a machine especially adapted for use in theaters or other places where only machines of small dimensions are allowed to he operated. The machine of my invention is of the magazine-type, as distinguished fror the so-called single-action machines in which the machine must be replenished after each operation. The magazine theater machines are commonly known as penny theater ma chines and may be repeatedly operated until the stack of goods is exhausted.

The machine of my invention embodies various improvements and advantages over machines of that kind heretofore constructed, with the result that. my machine is compact in form, contains no openings in the outer casing except the coin-slot and the delivery opening, is adapted to operate only with a proper coin, is reliable inits operation, and is of such simple construction as to be inanufactured and maintained at low cc-s'.

This application is a division of my copending case, Serial No. 27,302, filed ilay ll, 1915. Owing to an oliicial requirement for division, the claims in said co-pending application are restricted to the coin-controlled features of my invention, and the claims in the present application are directed generally to the delivery mechanism and other noncoin-controlled features of my invention.

The different features of novelty whiclji characterize my invention will be apparent from a detailed description of the mechan sm illustrated in the accompanying drawin in which- Figure 1, is a front view of machine embodying the various features of my inven-' tion in the form now preferred by me.

Fig. 2, 1s a side view of Fig.1, looking from left to right.

Fig. 3, 1s a longitudlnal cross-section on line 33 of Fig. l, looking in the direction of the arrows.

frierial No. 58,542.

the delivery mechanism fully operated and also showing how the column of goods is supported durin the delivery operation.

Fig. 10, is a fingmentaiy view in longitudinal cross-section approximately on line 101O of Fig. 5, looking toward the front of the casing; and

Fig. 11, is a detached view in perspective or the hand-operated slide by means of -which the delivery mechanism is operated through the medium of the deposited coin.

The drawings show the machine in actual The outer casing is made of sheet metal and comprises a front section A and a rear section B. The front section A consists of a the front wall 1, which terminates on top at the line 2. sides 3 and l, and bottom The bottom is provided with flanges 5', which are folded over and riveted to the sides 3 and l. its upper edge the front wall 1 has riveted thereto a e -shaped bracketor frame-piece 1 which extends partly above the upper edge 2 of the front wall, as clearly seen from Figs. 3 and The rear section B consists of a backplate 6, a top 7, a bottom flange 8 and longitudinal side flanges 9. The top 7 is provided with a front fian e 10 and side flanges 11, which are in the same plane th flanges 9. W hen the two sections of the cars ing are brought together, the bracket l fits within the top piece of section B and the upper edgeof the front plate against the flange 10. The sides 3 and 4 lie flush against the flanges 11 and 9, and the bottom 5 rests at its rear end over the flange 8 of the rear section. In this way a tight casing is produced. The two sections are held locked in position by any suitable lock, such as indi- 1 cated by L, carried by the front section and having one or more bolts 1) adapted to enter alined recesses formed by the projections c embossed in the side flanges 9 of the rear section B, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2.

I have shown and described the foregoing specific construction of easing as a form found to be exceedingly ractical and at present preferred by me. f course, it will be obvious that so far as the interior mechanism is concerned any suitable form of casing may be employed.

Within the casing is mounted the magazine section which is best shown in Fig. 7 and which comprises a pair of side walls 12 and 13, a front wall 14 and rear flanges 15 and 1.6. This magazine section may be read ily formed out of a single piece of sheet metal, except that as a matter of convenience I prefer to attach the rear flange 16 separately, since the side 13 extends slightly beyond that flange for the purpose of covering the joint formed by the side pieces 3 and 9.

of the casing, as shown in Fig. 6. The upper portion of the magazine section constitutes the chamber or compartment for containing the vendible goods or packages, some of which are shown in the drawings and indicated by G.

Between the side walls 12 and 13 of the magazine section is supported a rod 17 which for convenience of assembling, is preferably composed of two sectionsa main section having the hollow hub portion 18, and a sec- 0nd section consisting of a pin or bolt 17, adapted toffit into the hub port-ion 18 andto be secured thereto by any suitable means, as a pin 18. This construction is best shown in Fig. 10. On the rod 17 is pivotally mounted the delivery shelf 19, provided at the rear with an upstanding flange '20. When the shelf is in its normal position, as shown in Fig. 5, it forms the bottom of the goods compartment and supports the packages therein.

On the side wall 12 of the magazine section is mounted the reciprocable slide 21 by means of headed pins 22, which engage in the vertical slots 23 of the slide. These slots also limit the movement of the slide, which is operatively connected with the shelf 19 through a link 24. This link is connected to the slide 21 by means of a pin 25 which passes through the vertical slot 26 in the side wall 12 of the magazine section, as shown in Fig. 10. With this connection between the shelf 19 and the operating slide 21, it will be clear that when the slide is moved downwardly from its normal position, as shown in Fig. 5, the shelf will be rocked from its horizontal or normal position through the position shown in Fig. 8, to its final position as shown in Fig. 9. During this tripping or tilting of the shelf from normal to operated position, the lowermost piece of goods in the magazine is discharged therefrom and allowed to drop into a delivery opening at the bottom of the casing. To provide a free passage for the ejected article, the front wall of the casing has formed thereon a hollow transverse rib cl, which projects outwardly and forms a recess f to provideroom for the forward end of the ejected article. This rib also constitutes a reinforcement for the front plate of the casing. Between the recess f and the magazine is arranged a readily flexible spring blade 9 which is shown in the drawings as being secured to the lower end of the front wall 14 of the magazine section, by means of rivets or otherwise. Fig. 8 illustrates how this flexible blade is moved aside by the forward end of the ejected article. The purpose of the spring blade 9 will appear later on when I take up the description of the return movement of the parts constituting the coin-controlled delivery mechanism of my invention.

A manually operated lever 27 is pivoted at one end to the magazine section in any suitable way, as by means of the pin28 carried by the lug 29 which is secured to the side wall 13. The lever 27 carries a coin-' controlled connecting pawl 30 which is pivoted to the lever by the pin or stud 31. The pawl 30 is provided with a weighted portion 32, which so balances the lever that the lower toe 33 thereof hangs normally out of the path or plane of the projection extend ing rearwardly from the slide 21. The pawl 30 is further provided with an upwardly extending hook: 30 which is normallv in looking engagement with the shoulder 12 formed on the side wall 12 of the magazine section. In other words, the lever 27 is normally locked against operation. The object of this construction is to-prevent a person from pushing the lever down before inserting a coin, as otherwise the coin would be lost to the intending-purchaser; The normal or inoperative position of the pawl 30 is indicated by the dotted lines 30 in'Fig. a. v

The pawl 30 is so adjusted in its balanced position as to be moved into locking engage ment with the projection 34 under the weight of a proper coin deposited in the coinchute S. The coin-chute S is suitably supported within the a casing in alinemcnt with the coin-entrance slot (not shown) provided in the top of the casing. The coinchute is cut away at its lower inner end, as shown at 1-2 in Fig. a, and into the space thus formed, extends the coin-engaging shoulder 43 of the pawl 30. The shoulder 43 is so spaced with respect to the opposite side wall 40 of the coin-chute, that when a proper coin is deposited, it will be supported between the side wall 10 and the shoulder 43, approximately in the position indicated by the dotted lines C in Fig. 1. The pawl 30 is moved by the weight of the coin from its normal position to its operated or connecting position, as indicated in full lines in Fig. 4. hen the pawl 30 has thus been moved under the weight of the deposited coin, the toe 33 is in alineinent with the tooth or projection 34 of the slide 21, and the hook 3O is in releasing or inoperative position. Consequently, wit-h the proper coin deposited, the lever 27 is free to be moved downwardly, and during this movement the toe 33 engages the projection 34 and carries the slide 21 downwardly. As previously explained, this downward movement of the slide causes tilting of the delivery shelf to deliver the lowermost piece of goods.

I have provided means for sustaining the column of goods independently of the shelf 19 during the ejecting operation of the latter. In the particular embodiment illustrated, this means comprises the dog 44 pivotally mounted on the rod 17 and having a pointed upper end 45 which is normally pressed forwardly against the column of goods by any suitable spring means, such as the spring 46 coiled about the rod 17 and pressing upwardly at one end against the clog 44 at the point indicated at 47 in Figs. 4, 5, 8 and 9. The end 48 ofthe spring 46 bears against the lug 29. The pointed end 45 of the supporting dog 44 is normally held out of the magazine by the hand-operated lever 27 through the medium of the bracket or extension 49 fixed upon the lever 27. When the lever 27 is in normal position, as shown in Fig. 5, the upper end of the bracket 49 engages the extension 50 of the dog 44v and thereby holds the pointed end. 45 out of contact with the column of goods. When the lever 27 is moved downwardly, the spring 46 asserts itself and rocks the dog 44 forwardly-that is to say, toward the column of goods,until the pointed end 45 is firmly embedded in the lowermost piece of goods, as clearly shown in Fi S and 9. By this means the column of goods is. supported independently of the shelf 19 during the ejecting or delivery movement thereof. When the parts return to normal position, the bracket 49 of the ascending lever 27 strikes the extension 50 of the dog 44 and rocks the latter rearwardly out of engagement with the column of goods. This allows the column to fall down upon the delivery shelf. However, the dog 44 is not moved into releasing position until the shelf 19 has almost reached its normal position. There is, of course, an interval between the release of the lowermost package by the dog 44 and the final return position of the shelf 19. In other words, the column of goods is released while the shelf 19 is still in an inclined position on its way back to normal. The lowermost package falling on the slightly inclined shelf will, of course, assume an inclined position and tend to fall forward. To prevent the forward end of displaced package from being wedged by the returning shelf against the shoulder cl of the rib (Z, I provide the readily flexible spring 9, already referred to. This spring member guides the displaced article back to proper position within the magazine, as will be readily understood from Fig. 8. Although this figure shows the shelf in a halfway operated position to eject the pack age P, the figure also illustrates how the spring '9 will guide the displaced article back into the magazine during the upward movement of the shelf.

In the lower part of the magazine sec tion between the side walls 12 and 13, is secured the partition 51, which forms with the front wall of the casing the deliverychute or chamber D, into which the goods are dropped from the shelf 19. The bottom of the delivery chamber D is formed by the plate 52 which, in the specific construction illustrated, also constitutes the top plate for the lock L. The side wall 3 of the casing is provided with a delivery opening 53 through which the ejected package is withdrawn. To facilitate the removal of this package, the front wall of the casing is provided with an opening 54 through which a finger may be inserted to push the package out of the delivery opening 53.

The lever 27 is adapted to be operated by hand from the outside of the casing through any suitable connection. In the preferred form of my invention, I employ for that purpose a vertically slidable plate 55 mounted in close proximity to the side wall 4 of the casing. A detailed view of this slide is shown in Fig. 11. A finger piece 56 on the outside of the casing is attached to the slide 55 by any suitable means-such as a bolt or screw 57 extending through an opening 58 in the slide into the finger piece 56, as best shown in Fig. 6.

The side 4 of the casing is provided with a slot 59 in which operates the inner portion of the finger piece 56. The slide 55 is provided with a pair of lateral lugs 60 and 61 between which extends the free end of the lever 27. It will be apparent from the foregoing that as the slide 55 is reciprocated, the lever 27 is rocked. A contractile spring 62, secured at its lower end to the pin 63 on the slide 55 and at its upper end to a fixed plate or bracket 64, automatically returns the downwardly pressed slide and the parts connected therewith to normal position.

In order to lessen the metallic noise of the returning parts, I have provided a retarding means which prevents the retracting slide 55 from suddenly reaching normal position. This retarding-means consists ofa fixed cylinder 65 in which operates a piston 66 connected at its lower end to the lug in any suitable way, as by a screw or bolt 67 secured in the opening 68 of the lug 60. The cylinder is fixedly held in place by any suitable means--such as the bracket, 6 1 which is secured to the side wall of the casing. As above explained, the bracket 6 1- also acts as a connection for the "upper end of the retracting spring 62.

When the downwardly operated slide 55 is released, the retracting spring 62 not only carries the connected lever 27 back to normal position, but the coin-controlled slide 21 for the delivery mechanism is moved upwardly to normal position by the lever 27 which engages the rearwardly extending lug or shoulder 69 of the slide 21. This construction dispenses with the necessity of a separate retracting spring for the delivery mechanism, and a single spring is sufiicient to return all of the operated parts to normal position, except that the supporting dog 14C has a separate spring 16, as previously explained.

It should be noted that the hand-operated slide 55 at all times covers the slot 59 in the outer wall 4 of the casing. This is a very desirable and advantageous construction because it prevents the insertion of any instrument into the casing, as is liable to happen with machines of the prior art where the casing is open to the outside through slots or openings necessary to accommodate movable parts; The. only openings in the casing are the coin-entrance opening and the delivery opening 53. These openings are, of course, essential in any coin-controlled vending machine. The de livery-opening 53 is so arranged with respect to the magazine and the delivery mechanism that no instrument could be inserted therethrough in aneffort to work the machine without a coin.

WVhen I use the terms front and rear throughout the description and claims, I would have it understood that I use them merely in a relative sense. It is obvious that so far as the operation of the delivery mechanism is concerned, it iswholly immaterial whether the plate 1 be toward the operator or away from him, although in actual practice it is more convenient to have the plate 1 in the'front wall of the casing when the machine is installed in place. a

From the foregoing detailed description of the construction and operation of the various parts in. the accompanying drawings, theoperation of the machine to cause ejection of an article when a proper coin is deposited andthe finger piece 56 pulled down, will be understood without repeating here what I have already said above.

Although I have herein shown a machine of certain specific construction embodying the various features of my invention, I will have it clearly understood that I have shown and described this specific construction merely for the sake of illustration. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that in the broader aspect of my invention the various features thereof may be mechani-- cally carried out in other ways than those herein set forth, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It will also be ap parent that certain features of my invention may be used without certain other features.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In a vending machine, a shallow and substantially rectangular casing provided with a vertical magazine, a tiltable shelf mounted beneath said magazine and normally forming the bottom thereof to support the goods therein, said shelf being pivoted below said magazine at a point near the rear of said shelf so as to swing forwardly and downwardly within said casing, a vertical reciprocable slide connected with said shelf at a point near the front of said shelf, said casing having a delivery chute leading downwardly from said shelf, and manually operable means for actuating said slide to tilt said shelf forwardly'a-nd thereby allow the lowermost article to fall from said shelf down through said delivery chute.

2. In a vending machine, a casing provided with a vertical magazine, a tiltable shelf mounted beneath said magazine and normally forming the bottom thereof to support the goods therein, said shelf being pivoted at a point near the rear thereof so as to swing forwardly, a vertical reciprocable slide connected with said shelf at 'a point near the front thereof, a pivoted lever for actuating said slide to tilt said shelf forwardly and thereby discharge the lowermost article from said magazine,'and means projecting outside ofsaid casing for manually operating said lever.

In vending machine, acasing pro vided with a vertical magazine, a tiltable shelf mounted beneath said magazine and normally forming the bottom thereof to support the goods therein, said shelf being pivoted at a point near the rear thereof so as to swing forwardly, a vertical 'recipro cable slide connected with said shelf at a point near the front thereof, manually operable means for actuating said slide to tilt said shelf forwardly and thereby discharge the lowermost article from said magazine, and a movable device controlled by said manually operable means to sustain the column of goods during the delivery operation of said shelf.

1. In a vending machine, acasing provided with a vertical magazine, a tiltable shelf mounted beneath said magazine and normally forming the bottom thereof to support the goods therein, said shelf being pivoted at a point near the rear thereof so as to swing forwardly, a vertical reciprocable slide connected with said shelf at a point near the front thereof, a pivoted lever for actuating said slide to. tilt said shelf forwardly and thereby discharge the lowermost article from said magazine, means projecting outside of said casing for manually operating said lever, and a movable device controlled by said lever to sustain the column of goods during the delivery operation of said shelf.

5. In a vending machine, a shallow and substantially rectangular casing provided with a magazine, a shelf pivoted below said magazine to discharge the lowermost article therefrom, a manually operable member connected with said shelf for positively actuating the same forwardly and clownwardly, and a spring-pressed device held normally by said member out of operative ,position, said device being moved automatically and independently of said shelf into a position to sustain the column of goods when said member ismoved into ejecting position.

6. In a vending machine, a shallow and substantially rectangular casing provided with a magazine, a shelf pivoted below said magazine to discharge the lowermost article therefrom, a manually operable pivoted lever connected with said shelf for positively actuating the same forwardly and downwardly, and a spring-pressed device normally held by said lever out of operative position, said device being moved automatically and independently of said shelf into a position to sustain the column of goods when said lever is rocked downwardly.

7. In a vending machine having a magazine, a device for ejecting the lowermost are ticle from said magazine, manuallyoperable means connected with said device for positively actuating the same, a pivoted springpressed member tending when unrestrained to move into supporting engagement with the column of goods in the magazine, said member being positively held out of said supporting engagement when said ejecting device is in normal position, and spring means independent of said member for returning said device and said member to normal position and maintaining them in such position.

8. In a vending machine having a magazine, a tiltable shelf for ejecting the lowermost article from said magazine, a pivoted lever connected with said shelf for positively actuating the same downwardly into ejecting position, manually operable means for rockingsaid lever, a pivoted spring pressed member tending when unrestrained to move into supporting engagement with the column of goods in the magazine, said member being positively held out of supporting engagement when said shelf is in normal position, and spring means independent of said member for returning said shelf and said member to normal position and maintaining them in such position.

9. In a vending machine, a shallow casing having substantially parallel front and rear walls, so that said casing is of approximately uniform depth or thickness throughout, a vertical magazine mounted within said casing and of slightly less depth than said casing, an outwardly extending transverse rib on the front plate of said casing opposite the discharge end of said magazine to provide a path or recess for the ejected articles, said rib also constituting a reinforcing member for the front plate of said casing, and manually operable means mounted within the shallow space between the sub stantially parallel front and rear walls of said casing for ejecting the lowermost artiole from said magazine through said path 10. In a vending machine, a casing provided with, a vertical magazine, an outwardly extending transverse rib formed .on the front plate of said casing opposite the discharge end of said magazine to provide a path or recess for the ejected article,said rib also constituting a reinforcing member for the front plate of said casing, manually operable means for ejecting the lowermost article from said magazine through said path or recess, and a readily yieldable member arranged between said recess, and said magazine in the path of the ejected article and adapted'to be moved out of the way thereby, said member acting as'a guide to insure the proper positioning of a displaced article during the return movement of said ejecting means.

'11. In a' vending machine, a casing provided with a magazine, mechanism for ejecting the articles from said magazine, a pivoted lever for operating said mechanism, a

vertically slidable plate arranged within said casing at one of the side walls thereof, said side wall being provided with a slot, a finger piece connected with said plate and extending through'said slot to the outside of the casing, said slot being at all times covered by said slide, and an operative connection between said lever and said slide.

12.-ln a vending machine, a casing provided with a magazine, mechanism for ejecting articles from said magazine, apivoted lever for operating said mechanism, a vertically slidable plate arranged within said casing at one of the side walls thereof, said side wall being providedwith a slot, a finger,

piece connected with said plate and extenda ing throughsaid slot to the'outsideof the said casing, spring means for automatically returning said slide to normal position, and a pneumatic retarding device connected with said slide and controlled thereby to retard the return movement of said slide.

13. In a vending machine, a casing, a magazine-section removably mounted within said casing and having a chamber to contain the vendible articles in a vertical column, said magazine-section comprising a pair of side walls and a transverse-connecting wall, a delivery device mounted between said side walls below said chamber to eject the articles therefrom, and hand-operable mechanism mounted on said magazine section below said goods chamber for actuating said delivery device, said mechanism and said device being removable with said magazinesection as a unitary structure. V

14. In a vending machine, a casing, a magazine-section removably mounted within said casing and having a chamber to contain the vendible articles in a vertical column, said magazine-section comprising a pair of side walls and a transverse connecting wall, a delivery device mounted between said side walls below said chamber to eject the articles therefrom, a slide mounted on one of said side walls and operatively connected with said delivery device to actuate the same, and manually operable means for actuating said slide.

15. In a vending machine, a casing, a magazine-section removably mounted within said casing and having a chamber to contaln the vendible articles in a vertical column, said magazine-section comprising a pair of side walls and a transverse connecting wall,

a delivery device mounted between said side walls below said chamber to ejectithe articles therefrom, a slide mounted on one of said side walls and operatively connected with said delivery deviceto actuate the same, a lever pivoted to the other side wall of said magazine-section, and means extending outside of said casing for operating said lever by hand. i

16. In a vending machine, a casing, a magazine-section removably mounted within said casing and having a chamber to contain the vendible articles in a vertical column said magazine-section comprising a pair of side walls and a transverse connecting wall, a delivery device mounted between SELldSldQ walls below said chamber to eject the articles therefrom, hand-operable mechanism mounted on said magazine section below said goods chamber for actuating said delivery device, said mechanism and said device being removable with said magazinesection as a unitary structure, and a partition secured within said magazine-section below said goodschamber to form a delivery chute for the ejected articles. I

17. In a vending machine, a casing consisting of a rear section and a front section readily detachable from each other, and a bracket fixed to the upper end of said front section and adapted firmly to hold the sections together at the top, said bracket projecting beyond the upper edge of the front section and thereby acting as a guide in assembling the sections, said bracket also covering or overlapping the top joint of the wardly extending'side flanges and a bottom,

a bracket fixed to the outer'end of said front section and projecting above the outer edge thereof, whereby, when said sections are assembled, said bracket overlaps the top joint of the sections and holds the same firmly together at the top, while the front section rests on the bottom of the forwardly extend ing bottom flange of the rear section, the side flanges of the assembled sections being substantially flush with each other, a lock mounted in the bottom of the front section, and means on said rear section adapted to be engaged by the bolt of said lock.

19. In a vending machine, a casing provided with a magazine, mechanism for ejecting the articles from said magazine, a movable'member connected with said mechanism for actuating the same, vertically slidable means projecting out of said casing and connected with said member for operating the same, spring means-for automatically returning said member and the connected parts to normal position, and a vertically arranged pneumatic retarding device connected with said lever-operated means to retard the re- ;turn movement of said lever and the connected parts. 7

20. In a vending machine adapted to be secured to a theater chair or like support, a shallow casing having substantially parallel front and rear walls, so that saidcasing is of approximately uniform depth or thickness, a vertical magazine or chamber within said casing to contain the vendible articles in a vertical stack, said casing being at the bottom provided with a delivery opening, a pivoted member for normally supporting the stack of articles in said magazine, an outwardly extending transverse rib formedintegral on the front plate of said casing opposite said pivoted member to provide a path or recess for the ejected article, and vertically movable means mounted above said delivery opening in the shallow space between said substantially parallel walls to return said member to its normal position when moved therefrom and released, and a pneumatic cushion cushioning said member 15 upon its return to its normal position by said spring.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 26th day of October 1915.

ALBERT D. GROVER. WVitnesses F. E. LANG, A. L. DEANE. 

